Mind Game
by ohmistertiger
Summary: Barnaby finally finds Kotetsu after he had gone missing for six months. But something isn't right.  Kotetsu has been acting strange and is plagued with nightmares every night-and the culprit behind this is...Ouroborous?  Slight BarnabyxKotetsu Ebimayo
1. Darkness

Six months, that's how long it had been seen Barnaby last saw his partner. It started off as a terrorist bombing at the Justice Tower where all the heroes were called in including the second league. The explosion had occurred in the middle of the tower, the heroes rushed in to save those inside while the second league helped evacuate the ground area-all of them except Wild Tiger and Barnaby. The two sprinted inside using their hundred power, Kotetsu's exhausted first due to his one minute time span and just as the last person was picked up by Sky High a terrible crash was heard trapping Tiger and Barnaby inside. The former MVP looked around the falling rubble and heard his partner yell. There was a break between a steel beam, he peered through-eyes widening when he saw two masked men restraining his partner. One of them shot a tranquilizer against the brunette's neck with what looked like a pistol making him go limp instantly. Barnaby screamed, tried to push away and lift the beams that were crumbling down on him. At this rate they would all be crushed beneath the falling foundation, he looked up one more time and noticed familiar marks on the terrorist's necks. Ouroborous. Another beam fell blocking his view; he yelled in frustration and clawed at the crumpled wall before him…. Only a few seconds were left. Sky High hovered in through the opening to the floor and grabbed Barnaby by the shoulder-dragging him out as he screamed for his partner. A few moments later the floor collapsed.

Luckily the tower hadn't completely fallen, only a select few floors had actually been damaged by the explosion. The heroes had managed to evacuate everyone in the building; however, Kotetsu was nowhere to be found. Anxiety was Barnaby's worst enemy, and every possible situation had popped into his head. Was his partner dead? Was he alive and thrown into some room to be tortured? Would he ever see him again? Questions haunted his mind for every hour of the night, and the one thing he couldn't understand was why Ouroborous would want Kotetsu T. Kaburagi. If it was revenge they wanted for killing Jake they would've taken him instead of his partner. Or maybe they were angry from the fact that without Maverick they wouldn't be getting income to commit staged crimes in Sternbild. But if this was a kidnapping why wasn't there a demand for money or any sort of valuable item? Barnaby's heart would break whenever Kaede called asking if her father had been found yet. The worst of it all was whether or not Kotetsu was indeed alive or not.

But he was. After months of searching without any leads Barnaby took a long walk to the boardwalk where he and Kotetsu first met. He stared longingly at the setting sun when his eyes fell on a figure leaning against the metal fence separating land from water. The sunset cast a long shadow down to the ground and its shape was undeniably his partner's. Kotetsu stood staring at Barnaby-but without really looking. Barnaby stepped forward and noticed a sway in his partner, he dashed forward and caught him before the latter hit the ground.

Every hero sat in the waiting room of the hospital, Kaede and Muramasa had arrived shortly after. Kotetsu had gone through dozens of tests and the doctors had determined that he had a large amount of sedatives in his system from prolonged use. This was mentioned to Muramasa and Barnaby who had been in the room at the time. Kotetsu lay dazed on the hospital bed, blurrily staring at the ceiling listening to the fuzzy sounds the others in the room made. He was too weak to talk and trying to stay awake was a task in itself. But he was a live, and right now that's all that mattered to everyone else.

The next day it rained, the pitter-patter of the downpour echoed through the room. Kotetsu had woken up a little, at least enough to sit up and look around and recognize figures. He gave a weak smile when Kaede hugged him, bringing his hand up to pat the small of her back was a struggle though.

"How are you feeling?" Muramasa asked. "Mom's worried."

"I'm, okay." Kotetsu said-a little hoarse. His eyes didn't leave his daughter who gripped onto him for dear life. " 'S okay Kaede…I'm here." He reassured but her hiccupping cries still sounded through the room. He laid back, his arm plopped to the mattress. Why was he so exhausted? His mind was hazy.

"Dad?" Kaede sniffed.

"Dun-worry…I'm just tired. Let Papa rest for awhile…"

Just then Barnaby entered the room, his eyes lit up when he noticed Kotetsu was conscious.

"Kotetsu!" He reached the foot of the bed and smiled in relief.

"Hey, Bunny." Kotetsu managed. He just wanted to sleep. Muramasa got up and tugged on Kaede's vest.

"Kaede, let's go get some breakfast-you haven't eaten right?"

"But—"

"Barnaby, Kotetsu, do you guys want anything?" Barnaby shook his head and Kotetsu just stared blankly at his brother—which he took as a no. He lead Kaede out of the room leaving the two heroes alone. Neither of them talked for a long while, Barnaby had taken the seat next to Kotetsu and leaned over, his eyes trailed from the IV pouch to the tubes leading up into Kotetsu's arm. His partner had lost a lot of weight, and he looked paler than when he last saw him. His eyes seemed cold, dark circles lined under them making it look as though he hadn't slept for years.

"Kotetsu, what happened? Where were you?"

One could hear a pin drop in the room. Kotetsu slowly blinked, his eyes remained fixed on the ceiling tiles. A small breath escaped his lips and he closed his eyes.

"I…don't remember."

"What?" Barnaby leaned in, almost not believing what he was hearing.

"Bunny, can I sleep? I'm really tired…" His eyes remained closed but he turned his hand over signaling for Barnaby to take hold of it.

"Okay…" Barnaby clasped onto his partner's hand, holding it and never wanting to let go.

After another three days the doctor gave the okay to let Kotetsu leave the hospital on the condition that someone supervise him. The older hero found himself at Barnaby's apartment after finding out that his house had gone to market (again.) Muramasa practically begged for his younger brother to go home to let their mother know that he was okay but he insisted on staying in Sternbild. Kaede had also missed a few days of school already and Kotetsu had shooed her to go back with her uncle to oriental town. He kissed her goodbye and watched with a certain melancholy as they left the apartment. It was a Thursday, a day where he and Barnaby should've been working chasing criminals. Instead he lay back dazedly on Barnaby's chair. His system was still heavily drugged and he felt that he'd pass out at any second. This didn't go unnoticed by Barnaby who leaned over and brushed the hair away from his partner's brow.

"Do you want to go to bed?"

Kotetsu slowly nodded, feeling his eyes droop. He made a move to get up but practically toppled over onto the floor, again his partner caught him in time. He seemed to be good at that. The blonde princess carried him to the bedroom and laid him down the mattress. He was glad that Kotetsu had agreed to let him take care of him until he got better—but one question remained. What had gone on in those last six months? There were so many questions on his mind but at the moment it didn't seem appropriate to bombard the older man with questions, especially when he wasn't capable of holding a conversation for five minutes due to his narcolepsy. The doctors said the drugs would be out of his system within the next week or so. He tucked the man in and sat on the bed watching him, the latter cracked his eyes open and stared back up at his partner.

"Hey, Bunny…thanks."

"For what?"

"My daughter, and my brother…helped them….out right?" Kotetsu slurred a bit, his eyes were fluttering with the fight to stay awake.

"It's nothing Kotetsu, they were worried. Your brother is a very nice person, I was surprised when I found out he's quite different from you."

"Wazzat supposed…to mean…" Kotetsu slurred as his head lolled.

"I didn't mean anything by it. Go to sleep…I know you're tired." Barnaby said stroking the brunettes hair. He turned against Barnaby's palm and sighed. "Kotetsu, I missed you."

Agnes called at around four in the afternoon, Barnaby left the bedroom to prevent disturbing his partners sleep. He took a seat in his chair.

"Barnaby, how's Tiger?"

"He's alright, just exhausted I'm assuming."

"Has he told you anything?"

"No…I wanted to ask him later."

"It might be better to ask him now. If Ouroborous is involved in this they might still be in the city. We can catch them if we act fast."

Barnaby leaned back against the chair, staring outside his window at the massive city...Ouroborous; it seemed as though this organization would always be a part of his life.

"I understand. I'll ask him when he wakes u-"

Suddenly he heard his partner screaming from the other room, he jumped up.

"Kotetsu?"

"Barnaby what is it?" Agnes asked on the other line.

"I-I'll call you back!" Barnaby closed his phone and darted to the bedroom, Kotetsu was clawing at the bed shaking violently and he twisted and turned. He was having some sort of horrible nightmare, the blonde sat down and pulled his partner by the shoulder to face him.

"Kotetsu….Kotetsu wake up. Hey—" He shook him a little. Kotetsu's eyes flicked open and he gasped; clutching Barnaby's shirt with a whimper. The blonde looked down for a moment noticing a flash in the latter's eyes, _huh_? His thoughts were disrupted when Kotetsu mewled "Bunny." Barnaby leaned over and hugged him and stroked his back; soothingly saying that everything was alright. The brunette buried his head under the crook of his partner's neck—It was hard to settle his breathing.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Barnaby asked, a little shocked that something like this would shake Kotetsu up so badly.

"Y-yeah…" He panted. "Sorry…I didn't…"

"What was it of?"

Kotetsu shook his head a bit.

"Kotetsu?"

"It's nothing." He pulled back and huffed avoiding Barnaby's gaze. "What time is it?"

"A little after four, you've been napping for a few hours."

"Oh.."

"Are you hungry?" He remembered that Kotetsu hadn't eaten anything but a slice of toast since the day before. "I can make some fried rice, your favorite."

"That's be nice." He smiled, but something about that smile wasn't Kotetsu. It looked so unsure, like he was hiding something from him.

"Alright, do you want to sleep a bit more? I can wake you up when I'm doing cooking." Barnaby said quietly, trying not to focus too much on his partner's distant eyes.

"It's alright, I'll watch some TV or something, heh…" Kotetsu shifted out of bed with Barnaby holding onto his arm to keep his balance. He felt a little embarrassed for being so helpless, when they made it back out to the living room Kotetsu collapsed into the chair. Barnaby noticed his breathlessness but said nothing, he turned on HeroTV and left Kotetsu with a glass of orange juice and headed into the kitchen.

Kotetsu shivered. That voice was still in his head, taunting him, laughing at him. He could feel those cold fingers wrap around his throat and snicker into his ear and when he turned around he was staring at himself. It was the same him in his dream-the same one that shoved Barnaby against a wall and gripped his throat until he stopped breathing even though he begged and begged to be let go. His partner was tossed aside into the blood red bay. But the scary thing was it was he who killed Barnaby, he was this person staring back at him in the living room at the moment. And this dark version of himself stood before him with a crooked grin. The only noise in the room was the announcer giving Sky High 100 points for saving a civilian, and yet all Kotetsu could hear was himself laughing at his face. This mirror image of him was slightly darker in complexion, his eyes a crimson red and hair a ghostly silver. He cupped Kotetsu by the cheeks and leaned in close, their noses barely touching.

_"What do you think you're doing, ah? Kotetsu?"_ He said flashing his teeth. _"You're causing him trouble you know. Why don't you go back?"_

"Go back…where?" He asked, a little horrified that his body refused to move.

_"You know—"_ And then suddenly a flash of memories flooded his mind. Memories of being chained down to a table with wires and tubes infiltrating his skin, of liquids being pumped into his body and vials forcedly poured down his throat. Faceless people stood above him and all he could remember was that same mark of a snake biting it's own tail. His twin laughed at him as he fell onto the floor, convulsing.

_"Oh, Kotetsu~ Does it hurt?"_ He said stomping his foot onto the other's stomach. Kotetsu gagged and curled up, the room was spinning. _"You know what'll happen if you stay here right?"_ Kotetsu didn't know, his mind was so hazy and he wasn't sure where the thoughts in his head were coming from. Or why he had memories of dead bodies piled up in a steel pit. Or why there was no sunlight or moon or sky in any of these thoughts. Just cold metal and dimmed rooms. Anxiety tightened his chest when he heard his twin laugh above him once more.

"Kotetsu?" Barnaby rushed in; throwing the plates onto the computer stand and kneeling over to help Kotetsu up. The brunette didn't notice that he was lying in a pool of his own vomit of mostly bile and water. He trembled as Barnaby picked him up off the ground, the room was hot, he was hot, and whatever Barnaby was saying came out in muddled sounds. Why couldn't Barnaby see this other him in the room who was a foot away laughing like a mad man _Wait, why would he. I must be crazy._ Kotetsu shut his eyes and leaned into Barnaby. _What's wrong with me?_


	2. Question

"Kotetsu, can you lift your arm a bit?" Barnaby gently brought a soapy loofah up to gently scrub against Kotetsu's side. He sat in the lukewarm bathtub, shivering every time Barnaby scrubbed his skin. He felt sick, embarrassed, helpless. Why was his partner giving him a bath-he could do it himself…if his head wasn't spinning and if he was sure he wouldn't pass out and drown in the water. Barnaby lathered his hands with shampoo and rubbed them through Kotetsu's scalp, he massaged the base of the neck eliciting a moan from the older man. The blonde's hands slowed, avoiding that spot on the back of Kotetsu's neck…An Ouroborous tattoo…It didn't seem as though Kotetsu knew it was there. The mark looked as though it had been singed against his skin; the outline was sloppy and it looked more like a scar than a tattoo. Kotetsu leaned against the Barnaby's touch, enjoying and hating the treatment he was getting-he was trying to push away all the chaos that was creeping in on his mind…some kind of unknown anxiety that made his gut churn and head throb.

"How're you feeling now?" Barnaby asked as he brought his hands up to Kotetsu's temples and rubbed.

"Nghh..B-better…I'm sorry about your carpet." He whispered guiltily.

"It's fine, don't worry about it." He scratched Kotetsu's scalp a bit more until his hair was full of suds. "Lay back a little so I can rinse." He did what he was told; letting the blonde spray a bit of warm water through his dark locks with the showerhead. "Hey, Kotetsu…"

"Hmm?"

"What's the last thing you remember? How did you get to the docks?"

Kotetsu sat still for a moment, trying to remember how did he get there. He remembered something about a lab and being in the back of a truck.

"I think…I was dropped off there?" He slumped over and splashed some water with his palm watching as the ripples hit the edge of the tub. "I remember seeing the highway, and then someone dropped me off at the park…"

"Which one?"

"The south one on Silver Stage…Then I walked around for awhile until you found me." His head hurt.

"Who dropped you off there?"

"I'm not sure…the faces are blurry…" His face was hot. "I don't remember much before that….I—" He stared at the water for a long while trying to concentrate. "I was in a room before that…the back of a truck?

"Huh?"

"It's hard to remember." Kotetsu said furrowing his brows.

"Was it Ouroborous who took you?" Barnaby asked cautiously, he rubbed Kotetsu's shoulders trying to get him to relax a little.

"Uh..I-I don't know?" His head fell forward a bit and he whimpered. "Why can't I..?" And then that same voice, his voice echoed in his mind. "What's wrong with me?" He trembled.

"Kotetsu…What is it?" Barnaby leaned in. "Was…did you see Maverick? Is he still alive?" Barnaby asked, cursing himself for sounding almost desperate.

"Uh…" Kotetsu tried to remember…he couldn't see Maverick in any of the fragments so he shook his head no. "I don't think so…people in dark coats…"

"Did you recognize any of them?"

"N-No…Bunny, my head hurts." He whimpered.

"Alright, let's get you out. We'll have to blow dry your hair."

He helped Kotetsu up, his naked body shivered against the sudden rush of air and he huddled against Barnaby unconsciously. The blonde laid a towel on the edge of the tub for Kotetsu to sit and fetched the hairdryer. Kotetsu sat in silence; staring at the floor blankly as he tried to gather his thoughts together. Never had Kotetsu looked so pitiful, sure he kept things bottled up but he still acted like his dorky self while doing it. Perhaps it was just the drugs making him act this way, Barnaby was hoping so. There was no telling what Ouroborous had done to Kotetsu, especially if he claimed that he couldn't remember. Barnaby wondered if maybe Maverick was indeed alive and had erased Kotetsu's memories…but if that was true why wouldn't he erase everything including Barnaby? He frowned as he stared at his partner's naked body, he had lost most of his muscle tone and looked to be twenty pounds lighter than when he first saw him…it was frightening. The blonde switched off the dryer and laid it on the counter causing Kotetsu to perk up at the sudden lack of noise. Barnaby offered a hand and helped his partner up and slipped a pair of soft cotton pants on him along with one of his black tees. Kotetsu smiled a bit, liking the way Barnaby's shirt fit on him.

"Kotetsu…" Barnaby brought him into an embrace.

"Bunny?"

Barnaby hugged his partner harder. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"Heh?"

"You're hiding something."

"I'm not!" Kotetsu said trying to struggle away.

"You can trust me Kotetsu!" Barnaby exclaimed. Kotetsu pulled away and spun around pressing a hand against Barnaby's chest.

"B-Bunny, really I—" And then the room spun and he felt himself toppling backwards and falling onto his bottom hitting his tailbone on the tile floor. _ What, I fell? White… _Kotetsu stared blankly at Barnaby who hurriedly kneeled down before him.

"Kotetsu! M-Maybe we should take you back to the hospital—"

"No—I'm fine...!" Kotetsu reached his hand forward to grab a hold of Barnaby's shoulder, he was feeling extremely lightheaded. "I just need some sleep…Really I…I don't wanna.." There was a screeching echo in his ears and the sound of someone laughing.

"Did you hurt yourself-are you alright?" Barnaby scooped him up, feeling a bit terrified when Kotetsu didn't answer right away.

"Sleep..I-I..just…just need some rest." He slurred. His head lolled against Barnaby's chest struggling to keep his consciousness; his partner carried him to the bedroom. The blonde gently laid him onto the bed, tucking him in with an all to soft blanket. His breath came in pants and sweat began to gather at his brow. Barnaby leaned over and brushed the hairs away from Kotetsu's face to lay a palm on his forehead, a fever. He sighed and rubbed himself between the eyes, he felt irritated-Kotetsu was refusing to see the doctor but here wasn't much Barnaby could do for him…not to mention the lack of any leads to Ouroborous. Eventually Kotetsu's breathing calmed down and he turned his head toward the window in an attempt to avoid Barnaby's gaze. The bunny plush that Barnaby had received on his birthday two years ago was on the bed, Kotetsu reached for it and hugged the stuffed animal to his chest, he giggled a bit. Barnaby smiled and brought a hand up to stroke Kotetsu's shoulder.

"…white…"

"Huh?" Barnaby looked at Kotetsu who had closed his eyes.

"..was a white van…one of the doors was dented in…had lots of tape on it…red dice in the window…" He cracked open his eyes and immediately closed them when a pang of pain hit him in the head. He groaned and buried his face into the plush. Barnaby's eyes widened, he rolled over his wrist and entered Agnes' name on his call band.

"Barnaby?"

"Yes, Agnes-Kotetsu said he was dropped off here in a white van that had a damaged door shut with tape…and uh with red dice in the window. He said some members of Ouroborous dropped him off at the south park on the Silver Stage. "

"Hmm, I'm not sure if they'd still be in the area. But that's a start at least, does he remember what the driver or anyone looked like?"

Barnaby looked at Kotetsu who shook his head weakly.

"No…"

"Alright, I'll ask Sky High to patrol the area. It might be hard to track just a white van though-Tell me if Tiger remembers anything else…how is he anyway?"

"Ah…" Barnaby turned and Kotetsu eyeing him curiously. "Do you want to say hi?" He turned the band to face Kotetsu who meekly raised a hand from under the blanket.

"Yo, Agnes…'s been awhile."

"Tiger, how are you feeling?" Kotetsu found it a little surprising to see the sincerity of her concern. He must have looked as bad as he felt. "I've felt better, Bunny's taking good care of me though."

"Well he is your precious partner after all. Try to get some rest so you can come back to Hero TV. The main reason people watch the second league is to see you, our ratings have been down since you've been gone."

Kotetsu chuckled a bit, feeling a wee bit flattered and happy that the producer seemed to care about him despite mentioning the ratings. Barnaby pulled the band back to speak with the producer.

"I appreciate the help, Agnes."

"No worries, Barnaby. But just imagine, if we found Ouroborous it would be a big news story!"

"Of course, well then—I'll check in with you later." He switched off the call and turned back toward Kotetsu who had rolled back to his side, the bunny pillow was stuffed between his arms. He moved his leg a bit to lightly kick Barnaby's butt from under the blanket, the blonde smiled and got off the bed but leant back down to kiss Kotetsu on the forehead.

"I'm assuming you don't want that fried rice right now."

"Sorry, Bunny…maybe. Maybe a little later I'll eat a bit." He smiled a bit. "Hey…can you kiss me again?"

"Hm?"

"…On the lips."

Barnaby smiled and leaned in, pressing his lips firmly against Kotetsu's. It seemed like forever since they'd last kissed…it had been a half a year hadn't it? A slight flush appeared across the brunette's face as Barnaby drew back, his face was a little hot but not in a sick way. However, Kotetsu's smile faded when he noticed a shadow behind Barnaby, his eyes widened. His other self was standing behind Barnaby, eyes a bright red with a mischievous twinkle. Kotetsu shot up knocking Barnaby out of the way and sprang up to grab at his other self-but his vision swam and he ended up stumbling off the bed instead. Barnaby whirled around, confused; and looked down at Kotetsu who had landed on his side. He looked as though he was panicking.

"Kotetsu? Kotetsu, what's wrong?"

"Where is he?" He pushed himself up, struggling a bit with the way his arms shook.

"Where's who?" Barnaby looked around, peering out the window and at the door to the living room. "Kotetsu?" The older man looked frightened, he shrunk away and bowed his head down onto the carpet.

"S-sorry…I-I." _What's wrong with me? Bunny, must think I'm crazy_. He curled his hands into fists, and groaned in frustration. He felt a hand on his shoulder and another around his waist. Barnaby hoisted him up and back onto the bed, this time hugging him down onto the mattress.

"Kotetsu." Barnaby leaned in close, his nose just an inch away from his partners. His eyes were full of concern, the greens of his eyes glossy as he stared Kotetsu down.

"Bunny…" And he felt guilty again, like the time he didn't tell Barnaby about his declining powers. "I think…I'm just seeing things…I think I just need a nap." He turned away avoiding the way Barnaby frowned and sat back cautiously.

"Alright, get some rest then. I'll be here."


End file.
